The Innovation Council (a subsidiary of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park) recently released its second ever Metrics Report, which provides a data-driven summary of the state of the innovation ecosystem in the Richmond region. The report, which is updated annually, breaks down metrics focused on the direct and indirect factors that contribute to thriving, entrepreneurial region.

This year, The Innovation Council compared data reported in their first Metrics Report to data gathered in 2016, along with all new data gathered in 2016. Some of the highlights of the report were:

• $220 million in funding was raised from outside investors into Richmond-region based companies in 2016
• 2,058 mentorship hours were logged from Lighthouse Labs, Thrive, and VCU
• There were 11 more companies and 61 more jobs measured in 2016 than in 2015

You can view the full report here, and be sure to continue to check out the Capital Region Collaborative’s Indicators as we update them as well!